


Blomstertid

by Trams



Category: The Magnificent Seven (2016)
Genre: Established Relationship, Flower Crowns, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Silly, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-12-15 09:50:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11803575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trams/pseuds/Trams
Summary: Goody and Billy end up at a strange celebration.Or just an excuse to put flowers in Goody and Billy's hair





	Blomstertid

**Author's Note:**

> I completely forgot that I wrote and posted this on tumblr back in June and apparently meant to upload it here. I was reminded of it today. And while I think it's silly, ridiculous and sickly sweet I may as well upload it here anyway.
> 
> Title is in Swedish because of reasons

On the third week of June Goody and Billy found themselves in Minnesota. They didn’t do a lot of bounty hunting, but sometimes something cropped up which made it worth going after the reward money, this had been such a occasion. They had tracked a bank robber heading north, but lost him as he fled into the forest, presumably to cross the border into Canada, or get himself eaten by a bear. Goody bet on the bear, Billy had more faith in the robber. Either way, both Goody and Billy felt it would be a lost cause, turned around and headed southwest towards the Dakota Territory.

In the middle of a Friday afternoon they came upon one of the many small farming communities of settlers, they’d been through a few on their road north all of them full of people who spoke English with a marked Scandinavian accent.

“We could check if they have any rooms to spare?” Goody suggested, and Billy nodded in agreement.

Since all the people in the settlement seemed to be gathered in one of the fields on the outskirts, Goody and Billy made their way over there. 

They stopped, still on their horses, a little distance away and watched curiously the gathering in the field. About a dozen or so children were running around screaming and laughing, chasing each other. Tables and chairs had been carried out into the field, and some of the chairs were occupied by older men and women, faces wrinkled and red in the sun. Meanwhile almost every other adult were busy raising what looked a bit like a very tall cross, except it was covered in green branches and colorful flowers, with blue and yellow ribbon wrapped around it, and on the ends hung large wreaths, made of more leafy branches, flowers and ribbons.

Goody spotted a young girl, no older than eight or nine running towards them. She clambered halfway up the gate of the fence separating them from the field.

“Mama asked me to ask if you are here for the Midsommar celebration?” she asked, and pushed her blond fringe out of her eyes, and looked at them, especially Billy, curiously.  
“I don’t,” Billy started.

“Yes,” Goody said, suddenly very curious. “If we are welcome.”

The girl shrugged.

“You have to help out with the preparations,” she said. “Midsommarstången is already done, but there’s lots more to do.”

“We’d be happy to,” Goody said. “Could we perhaps talk to your parents?”

“Sure,” she said, jumped off the gate and opened it.

“Our horses?” Goody asked.

“Just leave them in the field,” she said. 

Goody was unsure if they should take the word of a nine year old, but when they started to walk through the gate a slightly older woman, though perhaps still just in her teens. Came walking towards them. Her hair braided tightly on top of her head.  
“Ida,” she said, and the girl spun around towards her.

“Lina! They also want to celebrate with us,” she said, delighted, and Goody smiled.

“Of course,” Lina said, a small smile. “Why don’t you run along, we need more flowers.”

“We need lots of flowers!” she shouted, and took off running again.

“Excitable,” Goody said. “Yours?”

“Oh, no, my younger sister.”

“I understand,” Goody said. “We were just passing through and thought we should ask if there was a barn we perhaps could sleep in during the night, we were planning on paying for the privilege, but if we are intruding...”

“Oh, no, most of the men will probably pass out in the barn over there.” she pointed at a large building on a small hill overlooking the field. “In case they get too drunk to find their way home, which is more than likely.”

She looked at Goody and Billy again.

“We can probably find two more chairs, and there’s food and always enough to drink, if you are willing to help out.”

“We’d be delighted, mon cheri,” Goody said. Her cheeks grew slightly pink-ish. Goody took her hand in his. “My name is Goodnight Robicheaux, and this here,” he nodded to Billy, “is my- associate, Billy Rocks.”

“I’m Lina Stensson,” she looked them over. “I’m really curious what Mama will make of you two.”

Mama turned out to be a short woman named Astrid, with brown hair in a long braid, and a no-nonsense expression as she looked them over. She didn’t at all seem taken by Goody’s charm. She still let them stay for the celebration though. 

Billy and Goody were quickly given an introduction to the five large families there, and Goody just as quickly forgot at least half the names, before they were put to work around a large table, making flower crowns.  
“You weave the branches together,” Ida, who had sat down to eagerly make as many crowns as she could, explained. 

The table was littered with leafy branches from birches and other trees, and everyone around the table seemed to know exactly what to do. After a few tries though Goody got the hang of it, and started weaving in flowers in the crown, after watching Lina doing it. Next to him, Billy was working on his flower crown, with a look of deep concentration. The fact that Billy was focusing so hard made something warm curl in Goody’s chest. He wanted to reach out, to touch his cheek, maybe press a kiss to one of his cheekbones, but they were among people, so it would be ill advised. Instead he looked away so as to avoid the temptation.

“You also have to pick seven different flowers,” Ida said to Goody.

“Oh?” Goody said. Giving her a curious look. She nodded and looked quite serious.

“Yes, because if you put them underneath your pillow when you sleep tonight you will dream of the love of your life,” she said with the earnestness and utter conviction of a child.

“Is that right,” Goody said, and smiled a little, doing his best to not look at Billy.

“It’s an old custom,” Lina explained. “For the younger girls,” she added. But later he saw her put aside some flowers while glancing at a girl her age.

When the flower crowns were ready, and Billy and Goody ha donned theirs - Goody had just used every available flower regardless of color, since that seemed to be how everyone else made them, but Billy seemed to have gone with a color theme of white and purple, and frankly, in Goody’s opinion it had been a very good choice. They were seated at the table like the rest of the gathered families with flowers in their hair, and plied with food and drink. The food was good, Goody ate most of it with relish, except for a pickled fish he stayed well clear of after trying just one bite, but Billy seemed to enjoy it, as he asked for not only a second but also a third helping of it. Astrid certainly warmed up to him after he complimented her on the fish.

What flowed even more freely than the food was drink, Goody had barely finished his glass before someone filled it up again with the clear liquid that burned down the throat, he thought they called it snaps, but he wasn’t entirely sure. Just like he wasn’t really keeping up with the cheerful short songs that were sung before every drink, but eventually he was able to cheer “Skål!” just as well as the rest of them, possibly because they were quite drunk.

The mood around the table was cheerful, and loud with people talking over each other and laughing. Goody noticed even Billy smiling at times. As the alcohol warmed his chest, and Goody started to feel relaxed, he started to sit closer and closer to Billy, almost leaning into him, and he felt a thrill go through him when Billy leaned back. They weren’t the only ones forgetting personal space as they got more and more inebriated, most people were leaning on each other after a while. Until a woman, Goody had forgotten her name, exclaimed that they had forgotten the dancing.

There was a rush as people started to bring out instruments, and others lit torches as they only had the last rays of the setting sun on the horizon. Music started and people started dancing around the cross that wasn’t a cross, Goody and Billy missed most of the bizarre dancing, as Lina and Ida’s older brother Emil spent ten minutes trying to teach Goody and Billy how to say “midsommarstång”.

~

It was much much later, when it was dark out, and most people had left, except for two men and one woman still seated around the table having a drinking competition. 

Goody was dragging Billy along to the bottom of the field.

“Where are we going, Goody?” Billy asked, accent thicker when he was drunk.

“Flowers,” Goody said. Weaving from right to left a bit, walking in a straight line was overrated anyway.

“Flowers?”

“Yes, to put under our pillows,” Goody said with a grin. Billy snorted but didn’t say anything.

They walked until Goody was sure they were out of sight, even with the moon shining down on them. Before he tackled Billy to the ground in the middle of a bunch of white flowers that shone in the moonlight.

Billy landed with a thump, and Goody leaned over him, looking down at him. Billy had lost the flower crown at some point, but now his dark hair was surrounded by small white flowers, and he looked like a painting.

“Thought we were picking flowers,” Billy said, but he smiled.

“Among other things,” Goody said, and leaned in for a kiss, and Billy met him with eager wet lips.

They did eventually get around to picking flowers, but it was much, much later and once they made their way to the barn to sleep they were the only ones still outside.

~

The next morning Goody woke from rather pleasant dreams and immediately spotted Billy sitting leaning against the wall. They were in their own little enclosed stall in the barn, but from the silence either they were alone, or anyone else in the barn were asleep.

“Morning,” Goody mumbled and sat up. Smiling at Billy who continued sharpening his knife.

“Pleasant dreams?” Billy asked.

“Very,” Goody said. Billy raised an eyebrow.

“You dream of your true love?” Billy asked. Goody bit back a grin.

“As a matter of fact I did,” Goody said.

“Oh?”

“Yes, you remember that barmaid we met a month ago back in Kansas-” He stopped talking spotting the unamused look on Billy’s face. 

Goody grabbed a flower from under his pillow, hiding it in his hand, before crawling over to Billy.

“Of course I dreamed of you, cher,” Goody whispered in Billy’s ear. “Every pleasant dream I have had since we met has been about you.” He lifted his hand carefully, and placed a yellow flower behind Billy’s ear, arranging his hair, still loose and not put up yet, around the flower. “Beautiful,” he murmured before he kissed him quickly.

He leaned back, before he started something they wouldn’t be able to finish, even if the barn was empty.

“Did you dream of me?” Goody asked.

“I had a dream about a giant chicken running around screaming about the sky falling down,”   
Billy said, deadpan. “I think it was all the drink yesterday.”

Goody stared at him for a moment and then started laughing. Billy grinned as well, showing teeth, and Goody had to lean in and steal another quick kiss.

“Love you too, cher,” Billy said. And as every other time Billy called him ‘cher’ Goody shivered and his chest swelled with affection and love.


End file.
